What The Crown Got Wrong About Queen Elizabeth, According To Her Friends

The royal family — and Netflix for that matter — have made it more than clear that their portrayal on "The Crown" is all fiction. But fictionalized or not, there's no escaping the fact that the show is very much based on very real people and their lives. They just happen to be some of the most famous lives in the world. 

Some members of the royal family have admitted to watching and enjoying the show, including, if her granddaughter is to be believed, the queen herself. Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of "The Crown," once said in an interview with Vanity Fair that a friend of hers overheard someone talking at a fancy party about watching the show with their granny who "really likes it." According to Kirby, "It slowly dawned on him that the girl was [Princess] Eugenie and her granny was the queen."

Even if this, admittedly very third-hand, tidbit is totally true, that doesn't mean Queen Elizabeth feels that she's been faithfully portrayed.

Queen Elizabeth is apparently much peppier than she's portrayed

The queen may enjoy watching "The Crown" on Netflix, but at least one royal biographer thinks the show gets a couple of things totally wrong about the long-reigning monarch. Robert Hardman, promoting his new book "Queen of Our Times: The Life of Queen Elizabeth II," told People magazine that "The Crown's" depiction of Queen Elizabeth as a rather glum figurehead is totally off.

On the contrary, "She remains very much center stage, with an appetite and enthusiasm for the job. She really enjoys what she does." Hardman added, "A lot of her friends and close staff felt that ['The Crown'] showed her being miserable all the time. And that's just not how it is." This is huge, if true. Frankly, we weren't even aware the queen was allowed to have friends — don't royals only hang out with each other?

The queen herself has never personally commented on the show, though other reports indicate that her opinion of it has gotten progressively worse over the years, according to Oprah Daily. Luckily, being the upbeat, stalwart character that she is, we assume she'll continue to soldier on regardless of how she comes across to streaming viewers.